This invention pertains to advertising, and more particularly to apparatus that enhances the appearance of displays on reader boards.
Various types of equipment have been developed to display commercial advertising and other promotional messages. For example, reader boards that hold interchangeable characters such as numerals and alphabet letters are well known and in widespread use. Examples of these reader boards may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,237,637; 4,265,040; 5,257,472; 5,357,701; and 5,367,800. U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,375 to Griffin discloses and claims a sign decoration system comprising a holder and a decoration that is removably received by the holder.
In some instances, the reader boards are translucent or transparent such that a source of illumination can backlight the characters on the board. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,367,604 and 5,588,238 show backlit menu boards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,202 and Des. U.S. Pat. No. 354,313 show representative plates that include characters for display. The plate of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,202 patent is especially useful with backlit reader boards.
Despite the large variety of reader boards, alphanumeric characters, and character plates that are presently available, they are limited in the size and variety of graphic arts that can be handled. U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,604 shows graphic picture units, but they must be custom made to suit a particular reader board. U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,238 shows pictorial assemblies that are sandwiched between transparent window panels. The pictorial assemblies must thus be of a specific size and shape. In addition, the design of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,238 patent is such that it is difficult to change or rearrange the pictorial assembly after it has been created.
A further disadvantage of existing display equipment is that the numeral and alphabet letter plates are limited to use between adjacent tracks of a reader board. The plates are all of the same height so as to fit within the tracks. Accordingly, variations in character heights in a particular reader board are usually not possible.
A still further disadvantage of some existing display equipment is that the equipment may become unstable during use. For example, some character plates and decorations may fall from the tracks of a reader board when being inserted or removed. Accordingly, use of such display equipment can pose a serious hazard to people in the vicinity during insertion and removal of a decoration or character plate.
Thus, a need exists for improvements in the way graphic and alpha-numeric materials are held on reader boards.
In accordance with the present invention, an eye-catching sign decoration system is provided that has improved retention within conventional reader boards. This is accomplished by apparatus that includes a flexible holder held in adjacent reader board tracks and decorations removably secured to the holder.
The holder is made from a sheet of flexible material, such as plastic or metal. The holder has an upper edge and a lower edge that are in a common plane and are separated by a predetermined first distance. The first distance is less than the distance between two reader board tracks. A middle region lies between the upper and lower edges and forward of the common plane. According to one aspect of the invention, the holder middle region has a substantially flat middle panel with short legs that connect to forwardly converging upper and lower panels that are adjacent the upper and lower edges, respectively. In another embodiment, the upper and lower panels are coplanar. According to a further embodiment, the holder middle region comprises a curved surface. In a still further embodiment, the middle region comprises a continuously curved surface between two generally coplanar panels that are adjacent the upper and lower edges. In all embodiments of the holder, the holder middle region has channels with downwardly converging surfaces for removably receiving a selected decoration.
The holder is removably held within two tracks of a conventional reader board. To do so, the holder upper edge is slid upwardly into the upper track, the lower edge is swung until it is against the reader board back panel, and the holder is slid downwardly so that its lower edge rests on the lower track. The upper and lower edges are spreadable apart to a distance greater that the first distance in response to pushing the middle region toward the reader board back panel.
The decoration is preferably made from a thin sheet of material such as wood, metal, plastic, or heavy paper. The decoration has side edges that converge at the same angle as the converging surfaces in the channels of the holder. The decoration may be of any desired size and shape as long as the side edges fit in the holder channels. In that manner, different decorations can be interchangeably used with the holder of the present invention. Any desired graphic can be imprinted or otherwise applied to the decoration front face.
Normally, the reader board is high above the ground. A person uses a suction cup attached to a long pole to pick up a decoration that is initially laid on the ground. To insert the decoration, the person lifts the pole and positions the decoration above the holder channels and lowers the decoration into the holder channels. The decoration thus wedges into the channels.
At removal, the person again uses the pole and suction cup. To grip the decoration with the suction cup, the person must push the suction cup against the decoration. Doing so transfers the force of the suction cup to the holder and pushes the holder middle section toward the reader board. This increases the distance between the upper and lower edges of the holder. The upper and lower edges hence move farther into the tracks. An upward force on the decoration by the suction cup to remove the decoration from the holder channels does then not enable the holder to slide upwardly in a manner that would enable the holder lower edge to come out of the reader board lower track and fall on the person. Thus, a major advantage of the present invention is that the holder remains held within the tracks during insertion and removal of a decoration.